s,
And such weapons of war as shall win you no battles.
Envoy of Vikings, your vauntings return,
50 Fare to thy folk with a far sterner message,
That here staunchly stands with his steadfast troops,
The lord that will fight for the land of his fathers,
For the realm of Aethelred, my royal chief,
For his folk and his fold; fallen shall lie
55 The heathen at shield-play; Shameful I deem it
With our treasure as tribute that you take to your ships,
Without facing a fight, since thus far hither
You have come and encroached on our king's domain.
You shall not so easily earn our treasure;
60 You must prove your power with point and sword edge,
With grim war grip ere we grant you tribute."
He bade then his band to bear forth their shields,
Until they arrived at the river bank.
The waters prevented the warriors' encounter;
65 The tide flowed in, the flood after the ebb,
Locked up the land; too long it seemed
Until they could meet and mingle their spears.
By Panta's stream they stood in array,
The East Saxon army and the eager shield-warriors;
70 Each troop was helpless to work harm on the other,
Save the few who were felled by a flight of arrows.
The flood receded; the sailors stood ready,
All of the Vikings eager for victory.
Byrhtnoth bade the bridge to be defended,
75 The brave-hearted warrior, by Wulfstan the bold
With his crowd of kinsmen; he was Ceola's son,
And he felled the first of the foemen who stepped
On the bridge, the boldest of the band of men.
There waited with Wulfstan the warriors undaunted,
80 Aelfhere and Maccus, men of courage;
At the ford not a foot would they flee the encounter,
But close in conflict they clashed with the foe,
As long as they wielded their weapons with strength.
As soon as they saw and perceived it clearly,
85 How fiercely fought was the defense of the bridge,
The treacherous tribe in trickery asked
That they be allowed to lead their hosts
For a closer conflict, to cross over the ford.
Then the earl, too eager to enter the fight,
90 Allowed too much land to the loathed pirates.
C